Insights from the SUNSHINE-INFRAMES Collaboration – 2nd year testing

Within WP7 of SUNSHINE lead by Professor Lang Tran of the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM, UK), a SUNSHINE-INFRAMES collaboration between Ca' Foscari University of Venice (Italy), Encapsulae S.L., a spin-off of CSIC (Spain), and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES, CT, USA) began in spring 2023 and it is now in its second year. This EU-US joint project focuses on evaluating the antibacterial activity of multicomponent nanomaterials (MCNMs), i.e., nanoclays encapsulating essential oils, developed by merging the knowhow of CSIC (Professor José Francisco Fernández Lozano) and Encapsulae S.L. (Dr. Castor Salgado and Dr. Julian Jimenez Reinosa). The main target is the bacterial pathogen E. amylovora, causal agent of fire blight, a destructive disease that affects pear and apple trees globally. Notably, the antibiotic streptomycin is one of the most common management strategies; this approach is obviously highly problematic. Both in vitro and field trials are conducted with the MCNMs encapsulating different essential oils at the CAES laboratory and at the CAES Lockwood Farm by Dr. Andrea Brunelli (Ca' Foscari University of Venice) and the research group of Professor Quan Zeng (CAES), under the supervision of Jason C. White (Director of CAES). Data on disease spread from the first-year trials on apple blossoms showed good efficacy of some of the MCNMs tested. This second year of experiments will reveal whether they confirm their antibacterial activity against E. amylovora and suppression of fire blight disease. The ultimate goal is to develop safer, more sustainable and effective agricultural practices by providing alternatives to conventional pesticides in plant disease management.

Field experiments on apple trees at Lockwood Farm (CAES, CT, USA).

A) Healthy flowers of apple trees and B) flowers infected with fire blight.